Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
[Description]
[Title of Invention]
FISHING REEL
[Technical Field]
The present disclosure relates to a fishing reel and, more
particularly, to a fishing reel enabling a user to simply and
easily change the rotation direction of a spool under drag force
into desired directions from the outside of the reel body.
[Background Art]
A fishing reel is generally composed of a spool for
winding/unwinding a fishing line, a reel body rotatably
supporting the spool, and a drag for adjusting the rotation
speed of the spool, can quickly wind a fishing line when the
handle on a side of the spool is rotated and can reduce the
speed of the fishing line that is unwound from the spool through
the drag.
Several kinds of such fishing reels have been developed up
to now. However, in fishing reels proposed up to now, it has
been attempted to simply improve functions in relation to the
connection structure between the spool and the reel body, the
drag for adjusting the rotation speed of the spool, a structure
for function switch of changing the rotation direction of the
spool under drag force for left-handed users, and a structure
for a generator and a stopper of a rotation sound or a drag
sound of the spool. Accordingly, all of these devices cannot be
efficiently arranged in a narrow space of any one of the reel
body or the spool with mutual relation maintained, so the
structure becomes very complicated and productivity is
deteriorated.
Further, when a ratchet gear is disposed inside a spool or
a reel body to change a drag force direction, a user has to
separate a drag first, turn over the ratchet gear, and then fit
it into the drag in order to change the mounting direction of
the ratchet gear, if necessary, so the separation and assembly
process is complicated and changing the direction of a drag
force is not easy. Further, there is a problem that the shaft
support portion corrodes later since there is a high possibility
that water permeates into the internal mechanical structure in
the process of changing the mounting direction, and reels may
not be used during fishing in many cases since parts such as a
washer or a snap ring spring out and are lost due to elasticity
in a replacement process.
In relation to this problem, a fly reel has been disclosed
in Korean Patent No. 10-0613148.
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CA 03167096 2022- 8- 4
The fly wheel disclosed in the above invention has the
advantage that since a user has only to simply turn a screw
outside a spindle housing in order to change the drag force
direction, which depends on the rotation direction of a spool,
in accordance with the user's condition, that is, whether the
user is left-handed or right-handed, it is not required to
separate a main spindle and a specific tool for separating the
main spindle is also not needed, so it is possible to
conveniently change the drag force direction. However, since it
is required to separate the spool first from the reel body in
order to change the drag force direction, it is impossible to
prevent water from permeating into the drag. Further, the spool
cannot be rotated in bi-direction and can be rotated only
forward or backward, which is insufficient to satisfy various
desires of users.
[Summary of Invention]
[Technical Problem]
The present disclosure has been made in an effort to solve
the problems of fishing reels of the related art described
above, and an objective of the present disclosure is to provide
a fishing reel that enables a user to simply change the rotation
direction of a spool into desired directions by only simply
operating a lever outside a reel body even without separating
the reel body and a spool.
Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a
fishing reel that enables a user to change the rotation
direction of a spool not only in the forward direction and a
backward direction, but in bi-direction when operating a lever
outside a reel body.
[Solution to Problem]
In order to achieve the objectives, a fishing reel
according to the present disclosure includes: a reel body having
a center shaft coupled and fixed to a center thereof; a ratchet
gear detachably and rotatably fitted on the center shaft; a
spool rotatably coupled to the center shaft to wind or unwind a
fishing line; a drag for adjusting a rotation speed of the spool
by adjusting a contact state of the ratchet gear with a surface
of the spool; and a direction selector for selecting a rotation
direction of the ratchet gear into any one of a forward
direction and a backward direction, and bi-direction, in which
the direction selector has a selection lever for selecting the
rotation direction of the ratchet gear, and the selection lever
is exposed outside the reel body and the rotation direction of
the ratchet gear is selected by operating the selection lever
with the reel body and the spool coupled to each other.
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It is preferable that the direction selector includes: a
first pole for allowing for rotation of the ratchet gear in one
direction and suppressing rotation of the ratchet gear in the
opposite direction while in contact with the ratchet gear fitted
on the center shaft; a second pole mounted at a side of the
inner surface of the reel body at a predetermined distance from
the first pole to allow for rotation of the ratchet gear in the
opposite direction to the first pole and suppress rotation in
the opposite direction while in contact with the ratchet gear
fitted on the center shaft; and a cam unit allowing for only any
one of the first pole or the second pole to come in contact with
the ratchet gear or preventing both the first pole and the
second pole from coming in contact with the ratchet gear,
depending on operation of the selection lever.
It is preferable that the cam unit has: a first position
where both the first pole and the second pole are prevented from
coming in contact with the ratchet gear such that the ratchet
gear can be rotated in bi-direction; a second position where the
first pole is in contact with the ratchet gear and the second
pole is not in contact with the ratchet gear, thereby allowing
for rotation of the ratchet gear in one direction and
suppressing rotation of the ratchet gear in the opposite
direction; and a third position where the first pole is not in
contact with the ratchet gear and the second pole is in contact
with the ratchet gear such that rotation of the ratchet gear in
one direction opposite to the first pole is allowed and rotation
of the ratchet gear in the opposite direction is suppressed.
It is preferable that the first pole has: a link fitted on
a side of an inner surface of the reel body to be shakable,
thereby allowing for rotation of the ratchet gear in one
direction and suppressing rotation of the ratchet gear in the
opposite direction when coming in contact with the ratchet gear;
and a spring for elastically supporting shaking of the link, and
the second pole has: a supporting screw coupled and fixed to a
side of an inner surface of the real body; a link fitted on the
supporting screw to be shakable, thereby allowing for rotation
of the ratchet gear in one direction and suppressing rotation of
the ratchet gear in the opposite direction when coming in
contact with the ratchet gear; and a spring for elastically
supporting shaking of the link.
It is preferable that the link has: a hole in which the
supporting screw coupled and fixed to a side of the inner
surface of the reel body is fitted; a cam contact portion
extending from the hole toward the cam unit to be able to come
in contact with the cam unit; and a locking portion extending
from the hole in a direction different from the cam contact
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portion to come in contact with or separate from the ratchet
gear.
[Advantageous Effects of Invention]
According to the fishing reel of the present disclosure, it
is possible to provide a fishing reel that enables a user to
simply change the rotation direction of a spool into desired
directions by only simply operating a lever outside a reel body
even without separating the reel body and the spool.
Further, the present disclosure can provide a fishing reel
that enables a user to simply and conveniently change the
rotation direction of a spool not only in the forward direction
and a backward direction, but in bi-direction when operating a
lever outside a reel body.
[Brief Description of Drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the external appearance of
a fishing reel according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a reel body and a spool
separated from FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the external appearance of
the reel body of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a view showing the state when a selection lever
of the fishing reel according to the preset disclosure is at a
first position.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a first position of a cam unit of
the fishing reel according to the preset disclosure.
FIG. 6 is a view showing the state when the selection lever
of the fishing reel according to the preset disclosure is at a
second position.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a second position of the cam unit
of the fishing reel according to the preset disclosure.
FIG. 8 is a view showing the state when the selection lever
of the fishing reel according to the preset disclosure is at a
third position.
FIG. 9 is a view showing a third position of the cam unit
of the fishing reel according to the preset disclosure.
[Description of Embodiments]
Preferred embodiments of a fishing reel according to the
present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
A fishing reel according to the present disclosure relates
to a function switch structure that enables a user to simply and
easily change the rotation direction of a spool under drag into
desired directions outside a reel body. As shown in FIGS. 1 to
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3, the fishing reel includes a reel body 10, a ratchet gear 17,
a spool 20, a drag, and a direction selector.
In the reel body 10, as shown in FIG. 3, a center shaft 11
is coupled and fixed to a hub (not shown) disposed at the
center, a thread 12 for coupling a drag knob (not shown) is
formed on the outer surface of the front end of the center shaft
11, and a hole 13 having a thread on the inner surface is formed
in the cross-section of the front end in the longitudinal
direction of the center shaft 11. A drag bolt (not shown) for
preventing separation of the drag knob (not shown) is thread-
fastened to the thread formed on the inner surface of the hole
13.
The ratchet gear 17, as shown in FIG. 3, is detachably and
rotatably fitted on the center shaft 11 formed at the center of
the inner surface of the reel body 10, has teeth 18, which can
come in contact with a first pole 30 or a second pole 40, on the
outer surface, and has a friction pad 19 on the surface of a
side facing the spool 20.
The spool 20, which is rotatably coupled to the center
shaft 11 to wind/unwind a fishing line, as shown in FIGS. 1 and
2, has a shaft hole 21 at the center that can be rotatably
fitted on the center shaft 11 and has a handle 22 for
winding/unwinding a fishing line on a side.
The drag is a device for adjusting or suppressing the
rotation speed of the spool 20 by adjusting the contact state
between the friction pad 19 attached to a surface of the ratchet
gear 17 and a surface of the spool 20. When the drag knob (not
shown) thread-fastened to the front end of the center shaft 11
is rotated with the ratchet gear 17 fitted on the center shaft
11 of the reel body 10 and the spool 20 fitted on the center
shaft 11 of the reel body 10 with the ratchet gear 17 fitted
thereon, the surface of the spool 20 comes in contact with the
friction pad 19 attached to the surface of the ratchet gear 17
rotatably fitted on the outer surface of the center shaft 11 in
accordance with the degree of rotation of the drag knob (not
shown), and the rotation speed of the spool 20 is adjusted in
accordance with the contact state between the friction pad 19
attached to the surface of the ratchet gear 17 and the surface
of the spool 20.
The direction selector is a device for selecting the
rotation direction of the ratchet gear 17 rotatably fitted on
the center shaft 11 of the reel body 10 into any one of the
forward direction and the backward direction, and bi-direction,
and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, includes a first pole 30, a
second pole 40, a cam unit 50, and a selection lever 60.
The first pole 30, which is for allowing for rotation of
the ratchet gear 17 in one direction and suppressing rotation of
CA 03167096 2022- 8- 4
the ratchet gear 17 in the opposite direction WHILE in contact
with the ratchet gear 17 fitted on the center shaft 11 of the
reel body 10, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a link 32 and a
spring 33 for elastically supporting shaking of the link 32.
The link 32, which is a member allowing for rotation of the
ratchet gear 17 in one direction and suppressing rotation of the
ratchet gear 17 in the opposite direction by being fitted to be
shakable on a supporting screw 31 coupled and fixed to a side of
the inner surface of the reel body 10, has a hole 34, in which
the supporting screw 31 is fitted, cam contact portion 35, and a
locking portion 36.
The cam contact portion 35, which is a portion being in
contact with the cam unit 50, of the link 32 extends from the
hole 34 toward the cam unit 50 to be able to come in contact
with the cam unit 50 to be described below.
The locking portion 36, which is a portion coming in
contact with or separating from the ratchet gear 17, of the link
32 extends from the hole 34 in a direction different from the
cam contact portion 35. When the locking portion 36 comes in
contact with the ratchet gear 17, the ratchet gear 17 is locked
by the locking portion 36, whereby the ratchet gear 17 can
rotate in one direction and cannot rotate in the opposite
direction.
When the locking portion 36 of the first pole 30 is locked
to the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 by rotation of the cam
unit 50 to be described below, the spring 33 applies elasticity
in the direction in which the locking portion 36 returns to be
in contact with the teeth 18 even if a force is applied in the
direction in which the locking portion 36 separates from the
teeth 18. Reference numeral '37' not stated above indicates a
fixing bolt that fixes an end of the spring 33 and reference
number '38' indicates a supporting protrusion for supporting the
spring 33 between the fixing bolt 37 and the locking portion 36.
The second pole 40, which is mounted at a side of the inner
surface of the reel body 10 at a predetermined distance from the
first pole 30 to allow for rotation of the ratchet gear 17 in
the opposite direction to the first pole 30 and suppress
rotation in the opposite direction while in contact with the
ratchet gear 17 fitted on the center shaft 11, has the same
configuration as the first pole 30 except for a difference in
location. Reference numerals, not stated above, '41' indicates
a supporting screw, '42' indicates a link allowing for rotation
of the ratchet gear 17 in one direction and suppressing rotation
of the ratchet gear 17 in the opposite direction when it is
fitted to be shakable at a side of the inner surface of the reel
body 10 to be in contact with the ratchet gear 17, '43'
indicates a spring for elastically supporting shaking of the
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link 42, '44' indicates a hole for fitting the link 42 to be
shakable, '45' indicates a cam contact portion, '46' indicates a
locking portion, and '48' indicates a supporting protrusion.
The cam unit 50, which is a part that allows for only any
one of the first pole 30 or the second pole 40 to come in
contact with the ratchet gear 17, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, or
prevents both the first pole 30 and the second pole 40 from
coming in contact with the ratchet gear 17, as shown in FIG. 5,
depending on operation of the selection lever 60 to be described
below, has any one position of a first position shown in FIG. 5,
a second position shown in FIG. 7, and a third position shown in
FIG. 9, depending on operation of the selection lever 60, and
has an oblong hole at the center in which a lever shaft 61 of
the selection lever 60 can be fitted. Reference numeral '52'
not stated above indicates a spring for elastically supporting
the cam unit 50.
The first position, as shown in FIG. 5, is a position where
both the first pole 30 and the second pole 40 are prevented from
coming in contact with the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 such
that the ratchet gear 17 can be rotated in bi-direction. The
cam contact portion 35 of the first pole 30 and the cam contact
portion 45 of the second pole 40 are both in contact with the
cam unit 50 at the first position. In this case, the locking
portions 36 and 46 of the first pole 30 and the second pole 40
are not in contact with the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 even
though they are elastically supported by the springs 33 and 43,
respectively, so the ratchet gear 17 can be rotated in bi-
direction.
The second position is a position where the first pole 30
is in contact with the ratchet gear 17 and the second pole 40 is
not in contact with the ratchet gear 17, thereby allowing for
rotation of the ratchet gear 17 in one direction and suppressing
rotation of the ratchet gear 17 in the opposite direction. At
the second position, when the cam unit 50 is rotated
counterclockwise (shown by an indicator 61 in FIG. 6) from the
first position shown in FIG. 5, the cam contact portion 45 of
the second pole 40 maintains its position without moving even
though the cam unit 50 is rotated, but when the cam unit 50 is
rotated, the cam contact portion 35 of the first pole 30 is
rotated counterclockwise around the supporting screw 31 with
rotation of the cam unit 50. Accordingly, the locking portion
36 of the first pole 30 also rotates counterclockwise and comes
in contact with the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear
17. Thereafter, the locking portion 36 of the first pole 30 is
maintained in contact with the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17
by the elasticity of the spring 33. Accordingly, when the
locking portion 36 of the first pole 30 comes in contact with
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the ratchet gear 17 and the ratchet gear 17 is rotated
counterclockwise, the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 applies
force to the locking portion 36 of the first pole 30, and the
locking portion 36 of the first pole 30 is temporarily moved
backward against the elasticity of the spring 33 such that the
ratchet gear 17 is rotated, and returns to be in contact with
the ratchet gear 17 by the elasticity of the spring 33, and
which is repeated. Therefore, the ratchet gear 17 can be
continuously rotated counterclockwise. However, in order to
rotate the ratchet gear 17 clockwise, when the teeth 18 of the
ratchet gear 17 first applies force to the locking portion 36 of
the first pole 30, the force is transmitted to the cam contact
portion 35 of the first pole 30, but the cam contact portion 35
comes in contact with the cam unit 50, so it cannot be rotated
further. As a result, the ratchet gear 17 cannot be rotated
clockwise.
The third position, as shown in FIG. 9, is for preventing
the first pole 30 from coming in contact with the ratchet gear
17 and allowing the second pole 40 to come in contact with the
ratchet gear 17 such that rotation of the ratchet gear 17 in one
direction opposite to the first pole 30 is allowed and rotation
in the opposite direction is suppressed, which is different from
the first pole 30 only in that the rotation direction of the
ratchet gear 17 is different, but the function is the same, so
it is not described.
The selection lever 60, which is a lever for selecting the
rotation direction of the ratchet gear 17 into any one of the
forward direction and the backward direction, and bi-direction,
as shown in FIG. 2, is exposed outside the reel body 10 and is
fastened to the cam unit 50 rotatably mounted on the inner
surface of the reel body 10 through a hole formed at the reel
body 10. When the selection lever 60 is positioned at the
center, as shown in FIG. 4, the cam unit 50 is positioned at the
first position, so the ratchet gear 17 can be rotated in bi-
direction. When the selection lever 60 is rotated clockwise and
the cam unit 50 is positioned at the second position, as shown
in FIG. 5, the ratchet gear 17 can rotate counterclockwise, but
cannot rotate clockwise. Accordingly, when the selection lever
60 is operated outside the reel body 10 with the reel body 10
and the spool coupled to each other, the cam unit 50 is rotated
in accordance with the operation direction of the selection
lever 60 and it is possible to conveniently and simply select
the rotation direction of the ratchet gear 17 in accordance with
the rotation direction of the cam unit 50. Accordingly, there
is no need for a process of separating the spool 20 from the
reel body 10 to change the rotation direction of the ratchet
gear 17 as in the related art. Reference number '61' not stated
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above indicates an indicator that shows the position of the
selection lever 60, and reference numeral '62' not stated above
indicates a lever shaft that is fitted in the hole formed at the
center of the cam unit 50. A fixing bolt (not shown) for
preventing separation of the lever shaft 62 is coupled to the
center of the lever shaft 62.
The operation of the fishing reel according to a preferred
embodiment of the present disclosure is described hereafter.
According to the fishing reel of the present disclosure, a
user can conveniently set the rotation direction of the spool 20
such that the spool can be rotated in any desired direction by
operating the selection lever 60 exposed on the outer surface of
the reel body 10. To this end, when the selection lever 60
exposed on the outer surface of the reel body 10 is vertically
positioned, as shown in FIG. 4, both the first pole 30 and the
second pole 40 are not in contact with the teeth 18 of the
ratchet gear 17 on the inner surface of the reel body 10, as
shown in FIG. 5. In this state, since the ratchet gear 17 can
be rotated both clockwise or counterclockwise, the spool 20
being in contact with the ratchet gear 17 under friction can
also be rotated both clockwise or counterclockwise.
When a user rotates the selection lever 60 exposed on the
outer surface of the reel body 10 clockwise in this state (the
indicator 61 is positioned at the left), as shown in FIG. 6, the
locking portion 36 of the first pole 30 comes in contact with
the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 but the second pole 40 does
not come in contact with the 18 of the ratchet gear 17 on the
inner surface of the reel body 10, as shown in FIG. 7. In this
state, when the ratchet gear 17 is rotated counterclockwise,
even though the locking portion 36 of the first pole 30 is
temporarily moved backward against the elasticity of the spring
33 by rotation force of the ratchet gear 17, the locking portion
36 of the first pole 30 is locked again to the teeth 18 of the
ratchet gear 17 by the elasticity of the spring 33. The ratchet
gear 17 can be rotated counterclockwise while the locking
portion 36 is repeatedly moved backward and locked in this way.
However, in order to rotate clockwise the ratchet gear 17
being in contact with the spool 20 under friction by rotating
the spool 20, when the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 first
applies force to the locking portion 36 of the first pole 30,
the force is transmitted to the cam contact portion 35 of the
first pole 30, but the cam contact portion 35 comes in contact
with the cam unit 50, so it cannot be rotated further, whereby
the ratchet gear 17 cannot be rotated by being locked to the
locking portion 36. As a result, the ratchet gear 17 cannot be
rotated clockwise.
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Further, when a user rotates counterclockwise the selection
lever 60 exposed on the outer surface of the reel body 10, as
shown in FIG. 8, the locking portion 46 of the second pole 40
comes in contact with the teeth 18 of the ratchet gear 17 but
the first pole 30 does not come in contact with the teeth 18 of
the ratchet gear 17 on the inner surface of the reel body 10, as
shown in FIG. 9, whereby, in this state, the ratchet gear 17 can
be rotated clockwise but cannot be rotated in counterclockwise.
Therefore, according to the fishing reel of the present
disclosure, a user can conveniently rotate the spool 20 in any
desired direction by operating the selection lever 60 exposed on
the outer surface of the reel body 10. Accordingly, it is
possible to prevent the problem that water easily permeates into
the internal mechanical structure in the process of separating
the spool 20 from the reel body 10 to change the rotation
direction of the ratchet gear 17 as in the related art. Further,
a user can simply and conveniently change the rotation direction
into any desired direction, that is, both the forward and
backward direction and bi-direction by simply operating the
selection lever 60 positioned outside the reel body 10.
Although a fishing reel of the present disclosure is
described with reference to the exemplary drawings, it is
apparent that the present disclosure is not limited to the
embodiments and drawings in the specification and may be
modified in various ways by those skilled in the art within the
range of the spirit of the present disclosure.
[Industrial Applicability]
According to the fishing reel of the present disclosure, it
is possible to provide a fishing reel that enables a user to
simply change the rotation direction of a spool in desired
directions by only simply operating a lever outside a reel body
even without separating the reel body and the spool.
CA 03167096 2022- 8- 4
